


the love we treasure

by masqurade



Series: Of Everything We Are & Of Everything We Are Becoming [2]
Category: Bravely Default (Video Game) & Related Fandoms, Bravely Second
Genre: F/M, enjoy edea suffering, just more pain, this game is destroying me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-15
Updated: 2016-05-15
Packaged: 2018-06-08 15:21:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6860572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/masqurade/pseuds/masqurade
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Edea’s words catch in her throat. Her nails scrape on the rocks. “—<i>I love him</i>. I really love him.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	the love we treasure

**Author's Note:**

> I am so in love with the whole bravely second ringdea suffer. There are **no** major spoilers for Bravely Second, but **major plot spoilers** for **Bravely Default**.

Edea lets her body sink into the hot water, breathing out a sigh of relief. She can already feel the soreness in her muscles begin to fade away. It’s been a tiring day. After finally acquiring a vessel worthy of travel, Edea and her companions are exhausted. Tiz decided for the rest of the group that they would set sail the following morning and even made a point to tell her to relax (which she didn’t very much appreciate).

Closing her eyes, Edea rests the back of her head against the edge of the rocks surrounding the hot springs. When soaking before, she had been with Magnolia and Yoko. Now, she is by herself. Not even Yew or Tiz are down below in the men’s bath, bragging about how _“muscly”_ they are. It truly is a silent night.

Her mind wanders to the events of the past few days. Seeing Alternis again opened up old wounds that Edea had thought, up until now, had long since healed. Calling Ringabel _“you-know-who_ ” in front of Alternis – what is she? A heartbroken teenager? Oh Holy Crystals, she hopes that she never has to think about that man again for as long as she lives.

_Then why are you thinking about him now?_

“I swear,” Edea mumbles. “So pathetic.”

“What’s pathetic?”

Edea jolts, eyes opening. She has to bite her tongue to prevent a scream to escape her lips. Head turning, she’s just in time to see Magnolia step into the hot springs. The water ripples as Magnolia moves towards her.

“I thought you were asleep,” Edea says.

“ _Moi?_ ” Magnolia fakes surprise then smiles. She settles in beside Edea, laughing. “I was going to, but then Tiz said you hadn’t gone to bed yet and sent me to check up on you.”

Groaning, Edea rolls her eyes. Ever since the other night when Edea had confided in Tiz after he caught her flipping through Ringabel’s old diary, he’s been hovering around her. She sometimes wonders if he inherited this newfound sense of duty in the two years he has been asleep, but she knows there’s a deeper meaning. It’s probably because of Agnés – which makes it cute and annoying at the same time.

“Honestly, I am fine. Tiz is just being overprotective.” Edea shifts positions so that her arms are lying across the rocks, exposing part of her back to the chilled night air. “You really didn’t need to come out here for something stupid like that.”

“It’s not stupid,” Magnolia states. She doesn’t elaborate (which suits Edea just fine), and, instead, takes one look at her hair with an amused look on her face. Taking Edea’s freed blonde locks in her hands, Magnolia expertly twists and ties it into a messy bun on the top of Edea’s head. “But can I just say, you are absolutely gorgeous. _Molto bella!_ ”

“Oh please, you are much more beautiful. I mean, look at you.” Edea giggles. “You even have Yew wrapped around your little finger.”

“Oh My Moon! _Edea!_ ” Magnolia turns around to make sure no one is listening before pressing her hands against her cheeks. Even with only a few lamps to illuminate the space, Edea can clearly see Magnolia’s reddening face.

Edea feels her chest starting to warm. A smile naturally breaks out onto her face. “So? How is _that_ going? I know it was a bit rocky between you two for a while.”

“It was my misunderstanding,” Magnolia says. “But everything is okay now. Yew and I talked about it and came to a… compromise of sorts.”

“I am glad.” And Edea is almost surprised that she means it. “Yew is a sweetheart.”

“Yeah…” Magnolia’s voice drifts off for a moment. Then, turning her head, she meets Edea’s gaze. “What about you?”

Edea feigns ignorance. “What about me?”

“Oh, come on. I saw how the men during the festival looked at you, and you didn’t even bat an eyelash at them. _Incredibile!_ They were cute too.”

“That is _so_ not true.”

“Oh, Edea.” Magnolia rolls her eyes. “Just because you don’t know what’s going on doesn’t mean the rest of us can turn a blind eye to it as well.”

By this time, Edea feels her cheeks reddening. It’s true. She hasn’t noticed. Even if she did, she always ignored it, hoping that if she pretended not to know, the attention of suitors would eventually fade away. “Time will heal all wounds” many have claimed.

Yet, it’s been two years, and Edea is still reeling from her loss that isn’t really a loss at all. Nor is it _‘hers’_. He never was hers, and it’s wrong for her to think he ever was.

“There is a guy,” Edea begins. She doesn’t know what provokes it – after all, isn’t she supposed to stop thinking about that moron now? – but it’s too late to take it back. No matter how soft her voice is, she knows Magnolia has heard it all, and her sharp eyes are on her in an instant. “He is so weird. Honestly, I don’t know what I see in him. Not to mention he probably is the biggest flirt in all of Luxendarc. But he is charming, strong, and—”

Edea’s words catch in her throat. Her nails scrape on the rocks. “— _I love him_. I really love him.”

In comparison to Edea’s inner turmoil, Magnolia appears ecstatic. She’s leaning in close, hanging on every word. Her eyes sparkling, she smiles brightly – all teeth. “Wow, Edea! I did not know there was such a man. You should have said something sooner. Where is he? What happened to him? We should drop by to visit your _amante_ when we find the time.”

“He left.”

“Huh?”

“He left and never looked back.”

Edea snatches a towel (which, thankfully, was within arm’s reach) and wraps it around her naked body. Feeling Magnolia’s eyes on her, Edea forces a smile and gets out of the hot springs.

“Edea, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to…”

No one means to. It’s just Edea’s stupid emotions running wild. It’s her fault. It used to be so easy, keeping everything in her life in check. Then she met Tiz, Agnés, and Ringabel, and nothing ever was the same. And then, along came Yew and Magnolia, and everything she had built up within those two years crumbled down into dust.

But she doesn’t regret meeting them, just as she never really regrets meeting Ringabel either, no matter how many times she claims she does.

“I know,” Edea says. “I’m not mad or anything. It’s fine.”

 _Fine_. Everything is fine.

When she finally gets dressed, Edea catches Tiz out in the hallway, leaning against the wall. He’s wearing the hood of his cloak up, but she can tell he’s observing her.

“Everything alright?” He asks.

“Just fine,” she replies. “I don’t appreciate the extra concern.”

“Mmm,” Tiz cocks his head, smiling. “That so?”

“One of these days,” Edea hisses while passing by him to her room. “I’m going to wipe that smug look off your face.”

They both know she doesn’t mean it, but it doesn’t make the threat any less there.

The last thing Edea hears before closing her door is his laughter echoing down the hall.


End file.
